Several cities in Ukraine have become the target of an extremely fierce wave of Russian attacks carried out with drones and missiles. According to data from the Ukrainian military, nearly 500 drones, as well as dozens of missiles, were used in the Russian attacks.
The capital Kiev reported explosions on Wednesday evening and Thursday night. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, at least 13 people were killed and 86 injured. The head of the capital's military administration, Timur Tkachenko, accused Russia of a targeted attack on residential areas and civilians. High-rise buildings, including a hotel, were engulfed in flames, and some residential buildings were completely destroyed, the news portal The Kyiv Independent reported.
The attack affected all ten city districts on both sides of the Dnieper River. Frightened Kiev residents sought refuge in metro stations. According to Ukrainian media, many of them pitched tents there and spent the night underground, protected from airstrikes. Mayor Klitschko urged residents to stay in shelters and spoke of an ongoing "fierce enemy attack" on the capital.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a "large-scale attack" on Kiev, which Russian President Vladimir Putin had been preparing "for a long time".
Air raids and explosions were also reported in other cities in Ukraine – in Zaporizhia and Pavlograd in the southeast, as well as in Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast. Zaporizhia Governor Ivan Fedorov reported on Thursday morning that three people were injured as a result of Russian attacks.
EU considers new sanctions against Russia
EU foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas announced new proposals for sanctions after the massive wave of attacks. "Today, in response to the attacks, I will propose imposing sanctions on more organizations and enterprises that support the Russian military-industrial complex," she said. The more Moscow attacks civilians, the tougher the sanctions should be. "Condemnation alone will not stop the attacks on Kiev," explained Kaia Kalas.
The Russian armed forces announced on their social media channels that they had carried out a "massive attack", hitting defense and energy industry facilities in and around Kiev, as well as military airfields in other parts of the country. The statement said the attack was in response to Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure on Russian territory.
At the same time, a total of 327 Ukrainian drones were shot down in a number of Russian regions overnight. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, according to Ukrainian data, an oil refinery was attacked. The governor of the region, Gleb Nikitin, indirectly confirmed the reports, writing on Telegram about "minor damage to an industrial facility and several residential buildings" due to falling debris from drones. According to him, one person was killed and four others were injured in the attack.
"Total losses of Russia and Ukraine have exceeded two million"
In the war that has been going on for more than four years, a total of more than two million casualties have been recorded among soldiers on both sides - this number includes those killed, wounded or declared missing. This is clear from a new study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.
On the Russian side alone, the losses amounted to 1.4 million. While the ratio between Russian and Ukrainian losses for most of the time was 2:1 or 3:1, in the first half of 2026 it rose to 8:1. The main reason for this is the increased and extremely effective use of Ukrainian combat drones, CSIS says.
In its research, the Washington-based think tank relies on information from the military, intelligence services and governments of various countries. The CSIS data is considered relatively reliable, but should still be viewed with caution, given the difficult-to-understand source situation and the targeted disinformation from both warring parties - especially considering that the Ukrainians are benefiting from weapons and intelligence from the United States, the German public broadcaster ARD emphasizes. While both warring parties report daily on the losses of the enemy, they extremely rarely reveal the number of their own victims.
Nina Barth (ARD)